“In 2008, I went to the Czech Republic and I was sitting in this small cafe in Prague,” Chase Neidig, a sports developer for Tourbeau Sports Group, said. “There was a boy there and he wouldn’t talk to me; he didn’t know one sentence of English. But when I pulled out a soccer ball, his eyes lit up.” Neidig wants to use that shared connection to help the Gambia, a small country in West Africa. His charitable organization, SoccerSphere,
Getting a Major League Soccer team isn’t an easy task, but the Miami Ultras, a Miami soccer fan organization, have improved their chances by organizing toward that goal. “MLS is the highest level of professional soccer this country has to offer,” Ultras President Pieter Brown said. “We want the best this country has to offer in our hometown.” Because of that desire, the Ultras have started a grassroots campaign for the 21st MLS team. Ed Serrano and Julio Caballero initiated the Ultras bid
In late 2006, Jared Montz tore a ring of cartilage on his hip. It was the beginning of the end of his career as a professional soccer player. Jared Montz and the Chicago Fire faced off against Club America in 2006. “It was tough in that it was out of my control,” Montz said. “When you’re at that level, you need to be 100% and I wasn’t. I cried my eyes out for a couple of days.” After a short return to
Jason Herrick started the day on which he would see his dreams fulfilled or dashed by watching TV and browsing the Internet. On January 13, the Chicago Fire drafted Jason Herrick, a University of Maryland forward, in the third round of the MLS SuperDraft. “It feels awesome,” Herrick said. “I’ve worked my whole life for this. It’s a dream come true.” From his first moment playing soccer, Herrick hoped to play professionally. “I’ve always pushed for that,” Herrick said. “I knew, if I
In the 74th minute of Saturday’s friendly between the U.S. Men’s National Team and the Chilean National Team, forward Teal Bunbury bounced the ball off the bottom right goalpost and into the back of the net. This penalty kick, awarded for a Chilean defender’s botched tackle of midfielder Juan Agudelo, led to the game’s final score of 1-1. The first goal of the match came in the 53rd minute. U.S. central defender Marvell Wynne overcommitted allowing Chile’s Fernando Meneses to cross
Jones spoke with worldwide media on a recent teleconference call. Cobi Jones, recently appointed Associate Director of Soccer with the New York Cosmos, hopes to develop the sport he grew up with. “I believe in what the Cosmos wants to do for soccer in New York, the U.S. and around the world,” Jones said. Jones thinks overseeing the young players at the club’s academies is a crucial part of the Cosmos’s mission. “I think it’s very important,” Jones said. “The youth, they’re
